


Summer Camp

by yungidreamer



Series: Yungi Soulmates [1]
Category: ATEEZ (Band)
Genre: Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Homophobia, Multi, Polyamory, Romance, Self-Discovery, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-27
Updated: 2020-08-27
Packaged: 2021-03-06 23:40:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26147317
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yungidreamer/pseuds/yungidreamer
Summary: Sometimes you find the right people in unexpected places.Yunho, Mingi, and her all go to a week long summer camp, not expecting much but finding friends and soulmates.
Relationships: Jeong Yunho/Reader, Jeong Yunho/Song Mingi, Song Mingi/Reader
Series: Yungi Soulmates [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1898728
Kudos: 15





	Summer Camp

“Are you excited for camp, sweetheart?” Her mother asked from the front seat of the car.

“Yeah I guess,” She shrugged, tucking the bookmark she had been holding into her book and letting it close.

“You’ll have fun,” Her father said from behind the wheel of the car. “Enjoy this time, it’s going to be one of the last free summers you’ll probably have. Summer camps were one of the best parts of my childhood. You don’t have many years like this left.”

“Jeez, you make it sound like she is on a slow walk to death, honey,” her mother chuckled. “She’s 18 and going into her senior year, it’s not like she is walking up to the wall in front of a firing squad.”

“I just wish I had known to appreciate this sort of stuff when I was her age,” he shrugged and patted his wife’s leg.

“She’s smart honey,” she assured him. “Probably smarter than either of us were at her age. Just let her enjoy it how she wants.” Her father grunted, quietly admitting she was right.

***

“You are sure you have everything?” Yunho’s mother asked, hugging him for the fifth time since she had begun helping him move his things into the cabin he would be staying in for the next week.

“Yes, mama,” replied patiently, unpacking a few things from his bag as he did.

“But you’ll call me if you need something, promise?” She fretted, looking down at her only son. _How had he grown up so fast_ , she wondered to herself.

“I’ll call you even if I don’t,” he promised, standing up and giving her a hug.

“Did you find your bug spray?” She asked as she pulled back.

“Yes,” he confirmed.

“And your sunscreen?” She followed up. “There is enough?”

“Yes, mama,” he laughed, she wouldn’t be herself if she wasn’t worrying about him.

“Okay, okay,” She looked around and gave a sigh. “Don’t forget to have fun, too.”

“I will,” he promised, putting a hand on her shoulder and giving her a reassuring smile.

***

“So this is where you’ll be staying?” Mingi’s father observed, coming into the wooden cabin where his son was busy messily pulling out his things into his designated drawers.

“Yeah, it seems alright,” he shrugged.

“Be sure to check your shoes before you put them on in the morning,” his mother warned from behind his father, poking her head into the space she could only call primitive. “Where is the bathroom anyway?”

“Uhh, a building or two over I think,” Mingi replied, not looking up from what he was doing. 

“You’ll be fine here?” She questioned, glancing at the other bunks in the room. “You will try to be careful; you won’t do something stupid just because someone asks you to, right?”

“Right, yeah, I’ll do my best not to do something really stupid at least,” He looked up at his mom with a wide grin. She knew him well.

“Have fun,” his father instructed, putting an arm around his wife. “This is supposed to be fun, after all.”

“Of course,” he promised, leaning in to give his mom a hug, then his father. “I’ll have fun and try not to be too stupid, at least.”

***

“Okay can I get the people in Arcadia cabin and Grand Teton cabin here with me!” A very cheery camp counselor who looked like he belonged on a beach catching waves. He was a blond, tan twenty something with blue eyes that sparkled with an undimmed joy in life. Yunho stepped forward, looking around to see five others move forward, coming to stand with him in front of the man.

“Okay so we need to break into pairs for this so let’s start with that,” he scanned the faces of the six boys who had gathered around him. “Let's start with names as I pick you out. So, uh, you?”

“Mingi,” the gangly, tall boy, dressed in jeans and an old looking black t-shirt answered.

“Great, and you?” He turned on Yunho.

“I’m Yunho,” he answered, slightly more timidly than the other boy had.

“Awesome, cool name,” the surfer man complimented with a grin. “You two can be a pair today. Why don’t you go ahead and go to the dock to grab a canoe and your life vests.” Yunho nodded and moved closer to the other boy, following him down the short path to the wooden dock that stretched out onto the lake.

“So Yunho, have you done this before?” Mingi asked, passing him a life vest.

“No,” Yunho admitted, slipping it on over his head.

“Me neither but it can’t be that hard.” Mingi declared, looking at the old canoe.

“I guess we’ll see,” Yunho gave him an amused smile. A group of girls joined them on the dock, chatting and giggling amongst themselves. Mingi straightened up and put a smile on his face, looking at all of them and watching as they milled around, preparing to canoe themselves. Yunho, on the other hand, took half a step back and crossed his arms, seemingly trying to shrink back into himself. The girls, for their part, mostly ignored them, being perfectly happy with the lighthearted conversation they had going between them.

“Okay guys, let’s get in.” Surfer dude said joining them with the last pair of boys from the cabins. “You guys can have the one there, I’ll just hold it while you step in.” He drew near and knelt on the deck, holding one end of the craft and gestured for them to step in. “Both at the same time, get low and put one leg in…then shift your weight over to the center…” Both boys knelt down and stuck out one foot into the center of the boat, reaching to the sides to try and steady themselves. “Good, yeah, hold onto the sides and sort of sliiiiiiide yourself in now.” The boys did, managing to plop themselves in with only a brief moment of seeming like they might capsize. “Good, okay, here, see if you can’t get to the dock you can see over there and back first.”

He handed them each an oar and walked over to the next group to help them in their own canoe. The two boys looked at the oars and at a pair of the girls who were already underway, rowing with each of them taking one side.

“Do you want the right or the left?” Yunho asked from the back.

“Uh, right I guess,” Mingi decided, sticking his oar out that side.

“Sure,” Yunho gladly put his out into the water on the opposite side. “On three?”

“Okay, I’ll count,” Mingi agreed. With only a few moments of complete chaos that threatened to have them veer off in the completely wrong direction or tip over, they did, in fact, manage to make it to the other dock and back before disaster struck. 

On the final leg of the journey, the counselor decided to take the group on a little trip around the edge of the lake for the practice and to get to the dining hall where they would be having lunch in half an hour. Everyone, having had at least some practice, was able to keep pace with the counselor as he led the way near the shore. Yunho and Mingi were somewhere near the middle, mostly focused on not hitting any of the other crafts with their oars as they moved. The shore was lined with waving patches of reeds that unfortunately happened to be home to a couple of skittish ducks who decided to flee just when Mingi and Yunho were passing. Mingi, for all his pretenses of confidence, immediately shrieked and flung himself in the opposite direction from the kerfuffle, which unfortunately resulted in him tipping over their canoe and the one nearest them. Splashes and screeches ensued, with the occupants of both canoes now being left bobbing in the water, sputtering and struggling to get themselves righted next to their overturned boats.

“Okay everyone, keep going, I’m gonna take care of our friends here who have had a little accident,” the surfer counselor said over the din. The rest of the campers headed off, leaving him and the four in the water to sort out the mess.

“You moron!” One of the girls yelled, trying to push her long dark hair out of her face as she bobbed up and down.

“Okay if you can swim I want you to head for that little clearing on the shore a few meters back,” the counselor said as he righted the first of the boats with miraculous skill that did it without letting it take on much water. “It might take me a bit to get these boats back but you guys need to get back to your cabins and get changed for lunch. Take a quick shower to get clean and bring your wet clothes with you so I can get them washed for you in the machines for the counselors.”

“I can get one to shore if that would be helpful,” the second girl in the water offered, floating calmly by the second, still overturned canoe.

“Yeah, yeah, thanks Chipmunk, you’re the best,” he said with a big grin, heading to her to turn over the second one. 

“No problem, Chase,” she rolled her eyes. “Just don’t forget to mention to dad that I was a ‘team player.’”

“For sure,” he laughed. “I’ll tell him you were awesome in person when he comes to pick you up at the end of the week.”

“Uh huh,” she shook her head and grabbed a rope attached to one end of the boat and started towing it back to the shore as she headed there herself. Both Yunho and Mingi headed towards her, feeling dumb for not having thought to offer themselves.

“Can I help or something?” Yunho offered, swimming up beside her as she slowly made her way towards the gap at the shore.

“I’m fine, it’ll just take a little longer,” she gave him a bland and reassuring smile without taking a break in her slow backwards crawl through the water.

“I’m sorry for, you know,” he apologized, despite not having been the one to cause the tip over.

“It’s fine,” She chuckled. “Just made the day a little more exciting. But, uh, I’d avoid talking to Luci for a day or two.”

“Luci, that’s the other girl in your boat?” He asked, vaguely looking at her figure as she continued to storm off to the girls cabins.

“Yeah,” she confirmed. “She’s staying in my cabin and she doesn’t seem like the most forgiving of people.”

“I guess,” Yunho said sheepishly.

“I’ll help you pull it ashore,” Mingi offered, now only knee deep in the water at the gap. The girl didn’t argue, changing position and pulling the boat as she walked in the water, now that it was shallow enough. They pulled it up onto the bank until it was almost completely out of the water.

“Thanks,” the girl said, taking a moment to pull off her drenched shoes and tossing her life vest into the canoe.

“I wasn’t scared, you know,” Mingi protested unprompted, tossing his own in after.

“Yeah, of course,” she gave him a grin and patted his arm before starting off barefoot through the grass.

“Hey, how do you know the counselor and why did he call you Chipmunk?” Yunho shouted after her.

“I used to have really chubby cheeks when he babysat me.” She shouted over her shoulder with a good natured laugh without interrupting her pace. Yunho’s mouth quirked into a half smile as he watched her walk away.

“I really wasn’t scared,” Mingi insisted, falling into pace alongside Yunho as he headed towards the area where their cabins were. When Yunho only responded with a sound of bland acknowledgement, he continued, “I was just a little surprised.”

“Well you certainly scared me,” Yunho chortled and shook his head. 

“Sorry,” Mingi gave him a chastened smile.

***

Mingi and Yunho were the only ones left in the cafeteria when she finally managed to get there. They were seated at one of the tables dressed in new dry clothes with messy damp hair. Chase was standing nearby chatting up one of the girls working in the kitchen. She made her way there first, handing him the damp sack that held both her and Laci’s dirty clothes.

“Laci decided she wanted to take a nap and had some snacks she had brought with her,” she informed him, handing it all over. “She’s in a shitty mood anyway, so it's probably for the best.”

“Do I need to send someone to check on her?” He asked half heartedly, only tearing his eyes away from the 20-something girl in the kitchen for a second.

“Maybe in an hour or like before dinner,” she shrugged.

“Okay, cool, thanks Chipmunk,” he flashed her a smile before turning back to chat with the other girl again. Rolling her eyes, she turned to get herself a plate and fill it with what was left of the lunch food. The food looked decent, if a little institutional, but it was at the very least plentiful. She piled a sandwich, some chips, and a bit of fruit salad on her plate, grabbed a can of soda, and went to sit with the two boys at the table. They both looked up as she sat down, straightening up in their seats as she did.

“Hi,” Yunho greeted, giving her a welcoming smile and nod.

“Is the food any good?” She asked, popping open the can of soda.

“It’s okay,” Mingi replied. “The ham sandwich was better than the tuna, though. That one was too soggy.”

“Good thing I got this one then,” she unwrapped her sandwich, flashing a little of the meat in between the pieces of bread.

“Good choice,” Yunho agreed with an approving grin.

“Uh, is Laci okay?” Mingi asked with a slight timidity, maybe with a tinge of regret.

“She’s not happy but she’ll be fine I think,” her tone was assuring and kind as she spoke between bites of her food. “Don’t worry though, I think she will get over it eventually.”

“I’m glad you are okay at least,” Mingi added, looking at his food as he spoke.

“Yeah,” Yunho agreed, offering her a soft smile. A shiver of happiness skated over her skin at the slight movement of his cupid bow lips. For the first time she actually bothered to look at both the boys at the table. They were both cute if a little awkward, like most guys her age. Yunho was tall and a little gangly, but had the promise of broad shoulders that would probably fill in over the next few years. His hair was a chocolate brown and a messy sort of cut that let the fringe in the front hang almost in his eyes. His dark eyes sparkled, set pleasantly into a heart shaped face. There was something intelligent and curious in his look, but it was well hidden behind his quiet façade. He was...interesting.

The boy across from him was stretched out and gangly, but in a way that would grow into a leanness in a few years. His hair was messy and a little too long, brushing the tops of his ears and past his eyebrows. Though he had behaved and spoken with a veneer of confidence, behind his dark eyes was a nervousness and perhaps a shade of confusion. His face was longer though his chin was just a little more blunt. As he sat looking back at her questioning face, his full, plush lips pressed into a line, obscuring their pleasant shape.

They were interesting individually but as a pair they were a perfect matching contrast. One with a quiet and shy confidence that was easy to miss and the other with a loud shell of confidence they used to hide a curious confusion with the world. 

“So are you two friends?” She asked, popping a chip into her mouth. 

“Uh not really,” Mingi replied, his eyes flicking over to the other boy to read his reaction as he spoke. “I mean, we just met when we were assigned to pair up.”

“Right, of course,” she bobbed her head. “Is this your first time here at the camp?”

“Yeah,” both boys replied simultaneously, smiling at each other in their synchronicity.

“What about you?” Yunho asked once the moment had passed.

“No, I’ve been coming for a while,” she shook her head. “My dad used to come to this camp when he was a kid so it's somehow like a family tradition to spend part of the summer here.”

“So that’s why you knew about how to canoe and stuff?” Mingi questioned further, shifting in his seat to face her more fully.

“I mean it’s one of the reasons,” she shrugged.

“Do you like doing outdoorsy sorts of stuff?” Yunho followed up, glad to have a direction for the conversation.

“I guess, maybe?” Her face scrunched up a little, testing the idea in her head.

“Well, I mean, what do you like doing?” Mingi asked, his eyes focused on her, though they flicked to the other boy as well, trying to read something in him.

“Reading,” her first reply came quickly, almost without thought. “I like playing games, watching movies...like the same thing as everyone else I think.”

“Yeah, me too,” Yunho agreed. “What are your favorite books?”

“I like a lot of different stuff,” she shrugged, trying to think of something she really liked. “Fantasy books can be fun, but I’ve been reading a lot of classics recently.”

“Did you bring any books with you?” Mingi asked curiously.

“My dad took a few he saw on the top of my bag,” She scoffed at the memory, a shimmer of satisfaction sparkling in her eyes. It was exactly why she had packed those books there on the top of her clothes and hidden the books she actually wanted to read near the bottom. “Luckily he didn’t look too closely and didn’t find my collection of Austen and Dahl which I have been wanting to reread for a while.”

“Sneaky,” Yunho gave her a conspiratorial smile. “I brought something to read at night. I’m reading through Harry Potter again.”

“Oh yeah, those are fun books,” she agreed.

“I brought some comics,” Mingi offered, wanting to join in the conversation. “I guess they are really manga…”

“Oh nice,” she gave him a sunny smile. “I’ve only read a few graphic novels, but they can be really cool.”

“You can read some of it too, if you want,” Mingi shifted forward in his seat.

“Sure,” she nodded, drinking the last of her soda and gathering up her trash. “There should be some free time after dinner tonight. Maybe you can bring some with you then.”

“Okay, I will,” Mingi was visibly relieved to have not been rebuffed.

“Alright, I’m going to go join everyone out doing archery for a little while,” she stood up and gathered her things. “See you guys later though.”

“Bye,” they both said, watching her go. After a moment of staring awkwardly at each other at the table, they too, gathered their things and left.

***

After dinner the campers were left with free and unstructured time to just hang out with old friends and get to know new friends. Everyone was spread around the grounds in groups, large and small, with most people gathered somewhere near the large bonfire being presided over by Chase and some other counselors. Yunho wandered down from his cabin in search of his new...friends? Maybe they were, or would be? He clutched the book he was carrying to his chest as he looked around the open space to see if he could spot either of them.

It took a few minutes of wandering before he finally laid eyes on her, feet curled under her as she sat on a towel laid out under one of the huge maples at the edge of the clearing. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and she was dressed in an old graphic tee and yoga pants. She looked comfortable and almost like she was in her own world. For a moment, he considered not bothering her. Maybe he had read it wrong, maybe she was just being nice. _Well you’ll never know unless you try_ , he could hear his mother’s voice say encouragingly.

“Hey,” he greeted, stepping closer and taking a seat on the grass beside her.

“Hello,” her warm and sunny smile instantly made him feel at ease. She tucked a bookmark in her book and let it close. “How was the rest of your day?”

“It was okay,” He shrugged, smiling shyly. Honestly, it had been hard since he didn’t know anyone and sometimes he wasn’t that good at making new friends. As good as he could be at reading people, having confidence in his own judgement was as easy as it sounded.

“Not knowing anyone doesn’t make it easy does it?” She asked, almost like she could read his thoughts.

“No it doesn’t,” he admitted, feeling a blush bloom on his cheeks.

“Most of the people I know from previous years aren’t here anymore,” she shared. “And the couple that are...aren’t exactly friends of mine.”

“Well we can be friends,” he offered, quickly following up with, “If you want, I mean.”

“That would be nice,” she put a reassuring hand on his knee. Behind him she caught sight of a lost looking Mingi wandering around half a dozen meters away. She shouted his name and waved him over. A wave of relief flowed over his whole body, visibly, as he turned and started making his way over to them.

“I thought maybe you weren’t here,” Mingi admitted as he took a seat near both of them.

“Nah this place is just big and I think I sort of picked a corner,” she admitted. “You know, wanted to get away from the crowds and all.”

“It’s nice over here,” He agreed, giving them both a big gummy smile. “I brought cookies, you guys want some?” Mingi pulled a box of cookies out of the small bag he had been carrying with him.

“Yes, please,” Yunho nodded, smiling back.

“Sure,” she replied, extending a hand to him. Mingi passed cookies to both of them before taking one himself. He managed to finish the cookie in one bite, stuffing the whole thing in his face and using his cheeks as reserves to hold what he couldn’t swallow as he chewed. The sight made her laugh. It was cute and endearing in a childlike way. He literally did everything with full passion.

Yunho suppressed a laugh at the sight himself, imagining what his mother would have said if she saw him do that at the table one evening. The other boy was boastful and loud at times, but quite clearly kind and wanted more than anything to be included in a circle of friends that wanted him.

“So where are you both from?” She asked them, nibbling at her cookie.

“Rochester,” Yunho replied after swallowing the last bit of cookie he had in his mouth.

“Me, too.” She said happily. “Wait, where do you go to school then?”

“Schroeder,” Yunho answered.

“Hey, that is where I am supposed to go this fall,” Mingi jumped in, speaking past the last of his cookie.

“Really?” Yunho gave an excited laugh. “That is awesome. What about you though?”

“Oh Thomas,” she replied fluidly. “I think it is pretty close though.”

“Yeah, it is,” Yunho confirmed. “Did you just move here, Mingi?”

“Mmm,” he confirmed, handing out more cookies to everyone. “Yeah my family just moved there, like, a month ago.”

“Well, at least you’ll know someone when you start school,” she pointed out. They all fell into comfortable conversation about school and moving and just getting to know each other. They discovered that they had a lot in common, with similar tastes in movies, books, games, and music. They spent hours that night, chatting about nothing and everything until the counselors started to send everyone back to their cabins to go to sleep. She left them both with a hug, promising to see them tomorrow.

Yunho and Mingi walked back to their cabins together, parting with a hug before they headed to their own cabins to sleep. Yunho usually read for an hour before sleeping, but, he told himself as he tucked himself into his bunk, the sooner he went to sleep, the sooner tomorrow would come.

***

“So you’ve made friends with some of the new boys?” Laci noted casually, as she lay in her bunk across the room.

“Yeah, a couple of them. Why?” She asked, looking away from the pages of her book in the dim light reflected from the pages of her book from the clip on book light.

“Like, could you invite them to come play with us tomorrow?” Laci’s voice was tinted with excitement and conspiratorial camaraderie. “The girls from Placid cabin have agreed to sneak out to play some games, but we need some boys to play. So...can you get them to bring their cabins to meet us?”

“I can probably ask but what exactly do you mean ‘play?’” She let the book fall back onto herself as she looked at the other girl across the room.

“You know, fun stuff,” Laci evaded for a second. “Truth or dare, spin the bottle, that stuff. Who knows, like, just something fun that we can all do with boys.”

“I mean, I don’t know that they want to, but I can ask,” She picked up her book, turning her attention back to it.

“I hope they come,” Laci mused. “Yunho is pretty cute. And Mingi isn’t so bad but I still haven’t forgiven him for that shit on the lake.”

“Yeah they are and I am sure Mingi is sorry,” she said off-hand largely focusing on the words on the page in front of her.

“If he apologizes, I might think about forgiving him,” Laci said musing mostly to herself.

***

“Okay okay okay,” Laci raised her voice over the din of chat of people gathered in the dim arts and crafts cabin they had snuck into to meet. “Everyone get into a circle and make it boy girl boy girl.”

Everyone milled around, slowly managing to organize themselves into a circle with an appropriate mix of genders. Mingi squeezed himself in next to _her_ , the only girl he knew and Yuhno tried to do the same, but Laci grabbed the ankle of his jeans as he passed then patted the space beside her, inviting him to sit beside her. After a seconds pause, he took the invitation, having seen the other spot to the side of _her_ be filled with his cabin-mate San.

With everyone seated, Laci cleared her throat and took charge of the room again. “Okay so let’s start some truth or dare. Someone has to go first, so I can do it. Let’s see. The person to your right gets to give you your question or your dare, whatever you pick.” She straightened up and looked at Yunho beside her, giving him her best sparking smile. “So that means you and I pick truth.”

“Weak!” someone in the circle coughed, sparking a ripple of laughter among everyone in the circle.

“Okay truth,” Yunho said aloud, buying time as he tried to think of a good question. “Have you ever cheated on a test?”

“Once,” Laci admitted with a giggle. “But I only did it that once and it was totally justified because I had been sick for like a week before the test. I could _not_ have learned everything in time and I was not going to let my GPA fall.”

A few laughs trickled around the circle and Laci grinned, feeling like she had adequately won over everyone there. “Okay your turn.” She turned on the person to her left asking _truth or dare_. The turns progressed until San went, having had to chug a soda for his dare.

“I pick dare I guess,” She shrugged, giving San a sideways look as she said it.

“Okay, pick someone in the circle to kiss,” he said flirtatiously, clearly hoping that she would take the easy answer and pick him.

“ _Someone,_ huh?” she scoffed, ended the sound with a sigh, looking around the circle as she did.

Mingi’s _I can--_ and Yunho’s _If you want to--_ both came out at the same time eliciting a couple of hoots and giggles from people in the circle. Both boys' ears went visibly pink in the dim light of the lantern that had been put in the center of the circle.

“You know, if both of you are so eager to kiss,” Laci teased. “Maybe you two should just kiss each other.”

“It’s not…” Mingi started, his protest tapering off after the couple of words he got out.

“I could do worse than kissing him,” Yunho defended, casting a look to Laci beside him.

“What, you think he’s cute?” Laci let out a scoff of disbelief.

“I mean he is,” _She_ challenged from across the circle, giving her cabin-mate a blank look. “Just objectively. He’s cute.”

“Oh my god,” Laci gasped. “You both like him.”

 _She_ rolled her eyes and turned to Mingi beside her. “Is it okay if I, you know…” Mingi nodded, his eyes dropping to look at her lips in anticipation. She sat up on her knees and put a hand on his cheek to guide his face to hers until their lips met in a soft but sustained kiss. She pulled away and sat back in her place coolly and calmly with the faintest pink blush on her cheeks.

“Poor Yunho, getting left out,” Laci tutted, giving him an enticing look as she sat beside him. She was clearly hoping to step in, in the perceived gap that had been left between the trio. From across the circle, Mingi stood up, taking large and confident steps across the distance until he knelt down in front of the other boy.

“Do you want me to…” Mingi let the drop of his eyes to the other boy’s lips. Yunho nodded, leaning forward ever so slightly. Mingi’s large, gangly hands went up to cup the other boys face, angling it slightly so their noses brushed slightly as they passed on the way to their lips meeting. Neither of them had ever kissed another boy before. It hadn’t really been something Yunho had considered but it was...nice. He had to admit that Mingi’s plush lips were soft and warm as they pressed to his own. They sent a thrill through him.

Mingi’s heart had been in his throat as he had crossed the room. Fear of rejection had thrummed through his chest but his distaste at seeing his friend being teased had outweighed his fear. He was grateful Yunho had said yes and he really wasn’t sure why because it went beyond being happy he hadn’t been disgusted at the idea. His face in his hands was comfortable as he nuzzled against his lips. The soft puff of Yunho letting go of a breath he had been holding sent a shiver along Mingi’s spine.

“Hey, boys, do you want to come with me? I think there are more fun things we can do than hang out here.” _Her_ voice was suddenly beside them and they pulled apart to find her standing beside them, hands outstretched. They nodded and shuffled to their feet, each taking one of her hands as they walked out together.

“Where are they going?” Laci sputtered.

“Somewhere they are all going to get lucky,” San snickered, craning to watch them through the doorway. Before they disappeared he yelled, “Can I come, too?” Yunho turned with a grin and shook his head, slipping an arm around her shoulder as they disappeared from their view.

She led them down towards the lake, silently sneaking past the counselor cabin which still was buzzing with activity. They ended up at the more distant dock where they found a large row boat tied to the dock.

“A-are you sure going out on the water is a good idea?” Mingi asked, squeezing his hands together in front of him.

“You afraid? Think you’ll get us all wet again?” Yunho teased, putting an arm around him, hugging him to his side.

“No, I’ve never been afraid in my life,” Mingi jutted his chin out with a great show of confidence. They looked at each other out of the corners of their eyes. Yunho gave him a playfully skeptical look which Mingi matched with one of false confidence. It only took a second for them to devolve into fits of laughter. Mingi’s face split into a grin of pure joy and Yunho brought his hand up to his mouth as he giggled gleefully.

“Don’t worry,” She told them, laughing herself. “This is much more stable. We’ll be fine. Come here.” She shepherded them into the boat, letting Yunho sit in the rowing seat with her at one end and Mingi at the other. It took a few minutes for Yunho to get a handle on the rowing, but soon enough he ended up being pretty competent at ferrying them all around with strong controlled strokes.

“Sorry I dragged you guys to that,” She told them as they bobbed up and down on the still waters. “I should have guessed it would end up with that.”

“It’s okay,” Yunho shook his head. “It wasn’t so bad and I probably would have been fine with staying, but both of you were the only reasons I was there.”

“I just,” she sighed. “I’m really sorry if you feel like you got pushed into something because people were being stupid.”

“Do you regret it?” Mingi asked, poking his head around from the other side of Yunho. A worried look was visible on his face even in the dim blue light of the half full moon.

“Do you mean do I regret going?” She quirked her head to the side.

“No I mean, do you regret kissing me?” Mingi let himself be vulnerable as he put the question out there.

“I don’t,” she assured him.

“Then…” Mingi paused again, his eyes touching on the other boy between them before continuing. “Were you grossed out by us...when we…”

“Oh no, nonononono,” she put up her hands, physically waving away the idea. “If you two like each other, that doesn’t change anything for me. I don’t mind becoming a third wheel or something.”

Yunho let go of the oars, letting them hang loosely from their rowlocks. He put his hands out, taking her wrists and pulling her into his lap. She sat stiff for a moment as the boat pitched slightly as the balance of the weight shifted. He waited for her to relax with one arm curled lightly around her waist and the other resting on her lap.

“What if I don’t want to have to pick?” Yunho asked quietly, resting his forehead against her shoulder.

“What do you mean?” She asked, leaning into his embrace.

“It’s weird,” Yunho admitted. “Until Mingi kissed me, I hadn’t really thought about it. I like girls right? They are the ones I’ve kissed before, the ones I’ve looked at _that_ way. He’s a good friend, I feel happy when he is around, he brings a smile to my face. I want to share funny things that happen to me over the day with him because I think he’ll get it and he’ll smile too. But I always think of you, too. Maybe I sort of want both. Maybe we are just friends that have fun together, maybe we are more but we don’t have to figure that out now, do we?”

“Is that your way of saying you kinda want a kiss but let’s keep it casual or something?” Her laughter sparkled over the quiet stillness of the lake.

“More like I wanna see where this goes without putting it in a box,” his hand caressed her thigh and he pressed a gentle kiss to her cheek.

“I’m not saying no, but I think there is someone else you have to ask, too,” she poked his shoulder then pointed at the other boy behind them. Mingi was still in his seat watching them looking like he wasn’t quite sure what he was supposed to be doing. When her eyes landed on him, he straightened up, eyes widening with a hundred questions.

“What?” Mingi asked nervously.

Yunho turned them both in his seat so he could look at the other boy. “Our girl is just saying I shouldn’t assume that you want the same thing. If you want to just be friends, I understand.”

“I don’t know,” Mingi admitted. “You guys were the first friends I found since moving and at first I thought I just was really glad to have new friends, not just here but back home. But…”

“You liked the kisses too,” Yunho filled in. Mingi nodded. “From both of us?” Yunho added, getting another nod from the other boy. “Me too. Even though I didn’t get an _actual_ kiss from our girl. I wouldn’t say no to one if she offered.”

“Smooth,” she joked from his lap, before obliging and pressing a soft chased kiss to his lips. He could feel the smile on her lips as he enjoyed their soft warmth. It was different from his kiss with Mingi but gave him that same warm satisfaction in his stomach. It just felt comfortable...right. 

When they pulled apart they both turned their eyes on Mingi, still seated in the back of the boat. His eyes went wide again when he realized they were looking at him and that he had been staring at them, enjoying the sight of them kissing. He blushed and shrank in a little on himself, not sure what he was supposed to be doing with himself at the moment.

“Mingi,” she said softly. “You can look, it's okay, but you can also come over here, too, if you want.”

“You don’t think I’m weird for watching,” he looked embarrassed, like he felt like he had been caught spying on them.

“Uh-uh,” she shook her head. “You two looked really pretty when you kissed, too. I could have been happy looking at that for a while but...maybe not with everyone else there, too.”

“You were really okay with that?” He looked a little pained as he asked it. “You don’t think it’s gross when two boys...you know?”

“No, not at all,” she sounded surprised at the question and she was, wondering to herself what she had said to make him think she might feel that way.

“My dad always says real men only like women,” he said softly. “‘Boys don’t like other boys, it’s not natural.’”

“Your dad is a dumbass,” she said aloud before she thought about the words coming out of her mouth. Immediately her hand slapped over her mouth as if she could catch the words and put them back in before he could hear them. “Sorry,” she added after a second. Mingi let out a small laugh, some of the tension melting from his shoulders.

“People like who they like,” Yunho shrugged.

“And you like me?” Mingi asked, almost childlike in his insecurity.

“I like you a lot,” Yunho replied with a big grin. “And our girl. I’ve been happier here at camp with you two than I remember being...in a long time.”

“We make you happy?” Mingi’s eyes sparkled at the complement.

“So happy,” Yunho confirmed, taking his hand as Mingi moved to kneel in the bottom of the boat closer to them. He wrapped his arms around both of them and laid his head in their laps. A little sniffle came from her as she looked down at his large head resting on her thighs.

“Awww, precious,” Yunho cooed, brushing a little tear that had escaped her eye. 

“Shut up,” she elbowed him playfully, feeling a little like an idiot for all this getting to her like it had.

“Don’t be sad,” Mingi looked up at her and gave her a sunny smile.

“I’m not sad, don’t worry,” she assured him before leaning into a little kiss with him again. Mingi took one of Yunho’s hands in his, playing with his fingers as he looked at them, his head once again resting on her lap.

“The moon looks really beautiful tonight,” she observed, her head leaning on Yunho’s shoulder as she ran the fingers of one hand through Mingi’s tousled hair.

“Yeah, tonight is just about perfect,” Yunho agreed.

***

The rest of the week passed too quickly. Even though they spent every free moment together, reading, talking, eating, the time seemed to pass in a flash. On the last day, with everything packed, the trio sat together in the yard, huddled together as she read aloud to them. They lounged side by side on a picnic blanket they had borrowed from the camp under that same large maple as they waited for their parents to arrive and take them home. As she read, Mingi and Yunho made faces at each other, periodically bursting into laughter. They were listening, but they were also just enjoying those last happy moments they would have here.

Thankfully school would start soon and Mingi and Yunho would have each other again. Her school, while not the same, was close. And there were always the weekends, they reminded her when she gave them a melancholic smile as they talked about going back.

“I have a car now,” Yunho pointed out. “I can pick you both up and we can hang out. I’ll tell my mom you are helping us study. And maybe we will actually do that sometimes.”

“ _Sometimes_ ,” she leaned in and gave him a playful look. Both boys burst into peals of laughter at her implication. “I see how it is.”

“Hey Chipmunk, I think I saw your parents over near the main building,” Chase said drawing near them. “Time to head home. Can I grab that blanket too? Gotta throw it in the last of the laundry before we close down for the year.”

“Yeah sure,” She nodded. They all stood up and Yunho picked up the blanket, giving it a hard shake before passing it to the surfer counselor. They all pulled each other into a big group hug, taking one last moment together before heading to the hustle and bustle of the main building with parents and other campers. 

“Hey Chipmunk, quick question,” Chase said, calling her over for a moment as they all started to walk away.

“What’s up?” She asked, coming over to him as the boys waited a couple of meters away.

“Are you, like dating one of them or something,” he asked quietly, trying not to be heard by the waiting boys.

“Am I dating one of them?” she repeated, slightly evasively. “Nah, even if I wanted to I wouldn’t be able to choose between them.”

She spoke loud enough for both of them to hear, bringing enigmatic smiles to their faces. She bid the counselor goodbye, leaving him with the distinct impression he had missed something.


End file.
